Fishing gaff



Patented Feb. 5, 1952 UNITED lsri.*..risssr2,584,3-'7-1 y lFISHING. j

'Joseph'.T. Shackel, Detroitjlvl'ich.

ApplicationMarchS,

Il Y The gpresent "invention relates lto .antiimpr'oved "iish recoverydevicey'relatin'g more particularly to '.'a gaff or 'grapple foranang'l'er.'s use inland- -in'g a fishsa'fely and certainly.

` "Under ordinaryr'circumstances, 'when a .corn` jparatively 'large fish'brought alongside of an vangler, Ait iis not .always leasy .to land,especially 'Whenit is drawn 'up .to a'boat. .The fish `is.n.

clined to struggleoften making .the .useo va-.land- A ing netimpracticable .and also endangering `.the

.'angler .since the plug .or .,iish v.hook may '.beoome disengaged. .orthrown .about vso .that one .may be injured "by-git. Also, 'thelinemaylbe too .small or .too vweak .to permit Ithelsh .to .beliftedfinto'the '.boat safely. Accordingly, a .,gaff r`or ,grapple `lhaslbeen'employedsheretofore-toacilitate making lthe catch vand,.n "iact, .is.often essential. In: most instances, however, .such .devices .havev.been ineiedtiva ...resultingin .the unnecessary loss of :a.partially.made-catch.

Accordingly,.it isfa principalobjectof the .present .invention toprovide a lgaffr or rgrapple having :a movable guard v`member rorI`lockingwarm which .maybe .operatedbyithaangler-toelose the hooked ,h

@h5 .tion of ithe inventionvillusti-'ated einFigs. 5 .and 16 .end lofl.the .device after the. fish `has Vlaeengaied 1tor preventing .theY.fish r.from..shalring :loose yor otherwise .escaping .andpreventng.accidental -.or inadvertent dislodging of the fish from the gai.

y, .It is=another .object of the invention-.to provide "a.slf-'locldngsga' whiohis undercontrol .of .the vangler at .all times,.whichis lightin .weight` and, therefore, .easy .to ,carry ,and handle,and which .is convenient and .easyto operate .and-use If desired, .a.gai constructed in accordance withn my inventionmayhe .actuated byonehand, thus'` ree'ing the fishermans otherliandffortaking carejo'f'thepole or line.

* Still another obiecte myinvention. is to -provide a device offtheforegoing .character .which isrelialole iny .its .operationand whichrensures 'successful landing of .the catch lonce-the.ishihas vlbeenengagedlby vthe hook; and to .provideacom- 'parative'ly simple ga'ffwhich is economical .to manufacture .and durable in use.

WCltherolojects and .advantages of .the invention are in part obviousvand will jin part .appear from a consideration of the .followingspecification. and appended claims, .reference being "had vto .the.accompanying drawings wherein .like :reference lcharacters designate..corresponding aparts throughout-.the severalvi'ews.

"associated parts are shown insoliti lin'eswv'hen 'in 4-5'Clai1ns. (Cl.

194.7,"seririv.332.514

their closed4 Aor"latchedpositions and in dotted :lines when 'in their'opened or unlatchfed ,posi- 4tions.

Fig'. `2 is an' 'enlargedpartialle'ft end velevation f5 -nf the form .ofA.the Ainvention iillustratedinig. 1

.direction of thearrows.

Fig; 4'3 'is a vertical sectional view of 'theiorm of .the linvention.illustrated in Figs. .1 .and 2 --and T istaken along .the .line 3`3 .ofA5.ig..2.in .the -.di

.rection of the arrows.

.,Fig. 4is-.a...cross-sectional .view of .the fond-.of

-the invention mentioned .,and. is maken. along `the Aline/Il--ll.o'iFigL 2in the `direction of thearrows.

Fig. 5 is afragmentaryside .elevation of amodii'ication .of theinvention, .the parts illustrated .being shown .insolidlines when in4their closed .or .latched `.positionsz-andin -dotted :lines `when .in

.theiropened.ornnlatclaiedpositions.

Fig. Bisva -partial .right .end .felevationaof the .form of .the.invention illustrated yin Fig. 45 vand is taken .along the .line B-Y-.-of Fig. I.'5 in -the idirec- .tionsof the arrows.

iFig. Jisca across-.sectional fviewA of #thegmodica- .andis taken-along.theline f'I-l .fof .-Fig. 5 in the y:direction of thearrows.

f .Before-xplaining vin detail the present inven- ..ti'on,f..-it iis .to-be understood that nthe 'inventionis l'ij'@ :not :limited .-in tits`application ytothe :details tof construction and arrangement of partsillus- Atrated lin the .accompanying drawings, "since"the 'invention iscapable :of A-other :embodiments and .of being rpracticed 'or-carriedfoutiin .various ways. S5 fAl'so, it is xtoflbe 1- understood that thephraseology forzterminologyfemployedherein 'iskfor .the `pinfplrieVYfofid.escript'.i1on"fandnnot'of limitation.

1 Figs. i1 toelcof'vthe drawingsthere rs`-illus traited a fg-affor'zgrapple *embodying one 'form'iof 40 fthe zpresent invention.' Thereference' numeral '.9 designates'astai"which'extends"throughoutmost offthe'flengthi'of =thefde1ficeand serves "asa reach fmemberiter-'enabling'th'esherman to 'gaff the :'sh. This "staff 'isEconveniently dimensioned *and zispreferably ."formedfrom alightmaterialsuch as "wood'foraluminum. A'portion ofthe'length of "fthe staff 9near'its upper end is preferably enlv closed byashe'a'th I-Il 'forproviding a surface over jwhich the "sleeve 'I'Smayslide "However, :the

'5o sheath "lll may "be dispensed with if it is Y'consideredunnecessary. 'The staff '9 terminates 'at its upper'end in Aanang'l'edhandle portion I I which is shaped yto provide a so-calle'd pistol. gripfor fmore vcor'ivenient'handlingl of the gaff. "Thereference numeral I2designates a 'shank which is attached to or forms a part of the gafihook I5. The shank I2 is attached, at its upper end, to the staff 9 bysuitable means, and a ferrule I3 is provided to assist in attaching theshank in place and, of course, to protect the stai at the connection.The ferrule I3 possesses a laterally-extending projection I4 which isslotted for receiving the rod II in order to support and guide thelatter during the operation of the gaii.

The garf hook I5 possesses a sharp 'or pointed end adapted to spearorimpale alsh, and it is shaped to hold the fish, in so far as possible,once it has been speared or impaled. To make it more certain that thefish cannot escape fromthe gafi, a guard member or locking arm I6 ispivoted to the shank of the hook I5. In Fig. 1,ithis locking arm isshown in its closed position (solid lines) in which it extends from theshank of the gal hook to the sharpened point thereof andr fits over thelatter, thereby serving as a closure for the entrance to the hookitself. Thus, once a fish is lodged upon thehook, it cannot shake looseor escape therefrom. The guard member IB may be opened and closed atwill by the angler in the manner explained in succeeding passageshereof. It will be noted that the guard member I6 possesses a serratededge facing the gaff hook for assisting in holding the sh upon the gaff.

The guard member IB is connected to its oper.- ating mechanism by meansof the rod II Iwhich is pivotally attached to the projecting end IBc ofthe guard member I6. The rod I'I passes through a suitable opening inthe extension I4 attached to the ferrule I3 and is adapted to be movedlongitudinally for swinging the guard member IB into its opened orclosed position, as desired. The rod I I extends along the length of thegai, finally terminating in an eye which is fitted within the downwardlyprojecting tongue I8 forming a part of the sliding sleeve I9. A coilspring 20 is attached at its upper end to the rod I'I and is anchored atits lower end to a suitable fastening element aiiixed to the stan 9. Thespring 20 is tensioned or loaded when the sleeve I9 moves upwardlyrelative to the staff 9; that is, in the direction of the angled handleI I and this spring is adapted to return the sleeve I9 and rod I I totheir lowered'positions when the latching mechanism 25 is operated tounlatch the sleeve IS for permitting it to move relative to the staff 9.

The sleeve I9 is constructed and dimensioned -to enclose the staff 9 orthe sheath I ll carried by the staff. It is fitted for sliding movementwith respect to the stati and is intended to slide up or down in alongitudinal direction. To Yassist in holding the sleeve I9 in place andto prevent it from undesirable twisting or rotation, a screw 'or otherfastening element 23 is employed. The

screw 23 is attached to the staff 9, a slot 24 in the sleeve I9 'beingprovided to permit the sleeve to slide up and down along the stairrelative'to the screw 23 `while preventing the sleeve from rotating. Thesleeve I9 is provided at its upper end witha laterally extending angev2l which `is suitably bent or curved so as to operate as a fingerpiece. In other words, the handle I I may be grasped with the indexfinger placed around the finger piece 2|v for pulling the sleeve I9upwardly on the staff 9 and, as a consequence, operating the gaft' tobring the. guard member i3 into its closed position as explained morefullv l'iereinafter..r y

The sleeve I9 is also provided with "a cutout portion 22 which, ineffect, is ,a comparatively long and wide slot exposing a portion of thesheath I3. Within the cut out portion 22, there is disposed latchingmechanism for locking and unlocking the sleeve I9. This latchingmechanism is indicated generally at 25 and includes an operating leveror thumb piece 26. The thumb piece 26 is pivotally attached to a fixedsupporting bracket 2'! having a pair of laterally spaced upstanding arms28 and 29. As illus- `trated .in"particular in Fig. the v'thumb piece 26Apossesses a chanel-shaped central portion, the depending sides of whichlie adjacent to the arms 28 and 29 and a suitable pivot pin 3l) passesthrough these adjacent members to provide the pivotal connection betweenthe thumb piece and the bracketfZ'I.

The reference numeral 3| designates a laterally extending bore in thehandle 9, which bore '32 and locking the sleeve I9 to the stail 9.

continues. through the sheath 1B in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4.The sleeve I9 is provided with a hole 32 which may be Ibrought intoregistry with the" bore 3l when the sleeveIQ isin its uppermost positionon. the staii S, so as to provide a continuous lateral passage extendingthroughout the ,width of the staff 9 and its associated parts'. A latchpin ,33 is adapted to iill this passage, thusprojectingthrough the holeHowever, the latch pin 33 may be retracted to free the sleeve I9 formovement on the staff and, in this; connection, thelatch pin ispivotallyattached to the forward end of the thumb piece 26, preferably at thereduced end of thelatter.

A conventional pivot pin, such as the' rivet 34, may be utilized toprovide the pivotal' connection between the latch pin and the thumbpiece. Preferably, the walls of the thumb piece through which the' rivet'34 passes are slotted somewhat to permit some play or longitudinalmotion for the latchipinv 33 which assists in making it readily operable(see Fig. 3). A leafv spring 35 `fits beneath the thumb piece 26 and isbentfabout to be anchored againstthe bracket 2l in the manner clearlyillustrated in Fig. 3. y This spring 35 is adapted to 'be tensioned orloaded whenA the thumb piece 23 is depressed for retracting the latchpin 33, that is, for moving it to the left, when the device ispositioned as shown in Figs. l and 3. y

The operation of the gaf orA grapple discussed above is convenient andsimple. In order to eniploy the device for assistingin landing a fish,it is evident'that the guard member or locking arm It must be in'itsopened or raised position, that is, the position in which it is shown indotted `To so place the guard member thereby moving the latch pin `33vout of the hole 32 in the sleeve I9. When the latch pin has cleared thehole 32, the sleeve I9 is free to slide relative to the sheath Il! andstair 9.' Accordingly, the 'spring 2D, whichis under tension, contactsto draw the sleeve I9 downwardly, thereby moving the' rod I'Idownwardlyand swinging the locking arm I 5 into its opened position. Theslot 24 may serve as a stop since its upper end may contact the xedscrew 23 when 'thesleeve I9 has moved into its fully lowered position. A

With the'locking arm in its opened position,

garnaybe used in a conventional manner 'by the sherman for impaling thefishi Finally,

the angler will maneuver the fish and manipulate the gan so, that the shis lodged upon thegaff ,hook I5and is ready for landing. At this point,

the guard member or lockng.arm I6 ismove'd @neem fnapfitseiosed positioniepreveni ,the fase from .eseapingirom thee-ati nook. The glookinazaimYmay ,be .closed by the .sini-ple expedient iet raising @timeshare-i9iipwardlypihat slidingA it yailorie theastafdatoward .the handle il..-Suehelidirig movement. of; the sleeve 4ISY-.Wfitlr respectdm the staii will, of. zeourse, `move the 'rod il 7. lupiiiardl3-',

tensioning the spring 2li-and swingingthelocking -`arnrror lguard memberL5 into its closed pesition.. Whenthesleeve L9 has moved relativetothestaff zpart .of ithefsiai 19; is .show-n. .iin-@Figa f5 fand. Giras v 9far enough tov register the :opening .32 in the f sleeve k3 with. zthe1at eral passagelin the staff 9 andfsheath `Alil.fthelatch pin 33automatically .35 to move .intoiifs loekingrposition.

@tion inat 4the guard member le nos onl .serves 1t isiapnarentby-virtueio'i,thepreseniooesiruc- @,Seape of a .fish 'ihereom :butYequallyv impor-tant itfafioigds a. piotectiveior `safety .means toprevent edeea niliry topersons. .or property hir, Athe sharp point: ofthe. hook. when. V the latter is :not f :actualuse. in `a...gaiing.operation. Iri-` addi` tio n, A

the @gi-lardlli4 .may b eloekedlin the :cover position .over1;he-,hook1,5 to permit portage of the: gal. in safety .and .tovaerei/tent.eareless or excited .sher- AV-rrieiil fromaeeidentallystepping onor ru-imingiiito the point, as for example while thegai is.lying Yin a, iishingv-rboatior on a wharfbetweeni uses.vrjJShe-la-tching mechanismwill of cou-rse also auto- Vnlatina-ilylatehtlie .guard Igeain .thefcoverfposition-over Athe-slaapk after a fish.ghas been 'mpaled fon the Alatter gsd-as vtofsecure the eatehvwlthvaminimumof. `.eiort or :ski-l1, fon the part o fiithe fshelimarlsleeve:.119 .may ibe- :movednrelaiive ter-fthe ,.:handle ..9 .for closing `thegua-.rd member il Suitable manner, although two: vWave yaplleai `-tghe-.bhefmostfeonvenient. "Theangler mayfsograsp ithelhandle ll asto-plaee his indexiinserf iii-ader thefllger piece .Zat and :pullit1;towald tgh e handle l Whileholdi-ng the handleeon'lparativ {Gigli-tf'ly thus moving than-ngerpiece/Zit andasleeve-:tg .unwardiy along.v V thefstaii 9l ion -onerating-zthe deviee. .This fmeanseof; actuatingvtlieimeolizi sm y.may gbeaeeomplisned; .Withone handquite 'f 'easilm@Specially ifthe handle ll risgangfledrttoprovidea Aresnl'ting from. theaction of. thefishw-illafmeite theistaff downwardly relativeio.thefsleev d inieleczt. moves'theisleeve ILQ upwardly with -respeotitothestai. Tlniegthe relative movement `retweei-i- `the .sleeve :L9 andlthe sta resnltswin .registering .the .hole i2 rin the. sleeve` with4the a;

passage: l ,inthe: .stal to ipermit the. blaten. .ein

. fte: look parts ofi the. .device in` their ;cljosed position, asexplainedxabove.

T;irfFigs. tto. `7 inclusive; therelsgillustisated a modiieation' ofvthe present invention.:

v:nod-iiication. is.; identzieali instructure-:w'tli .ille farm ofchexinvention explaineddetarl'- have :with exception of' ithe :operatingmeans iol .the-guard member l:- 6. Accordingly; hotlrzrnodi.- .cationsillustrated zare. provided withL a..-s1iai ie,

ae-gai. ibook: i5. .including its shank. 4.25, afmivoted guard memberorzfloelii arm .la6, fand...an epee .atinarod il--fertheeuardmember.-Fisa 5 t0 Y7' inelusivefdonoi snow allai -iliese-.elementasi-neeillustratedinr,Eig...f1. -Howevena wellas the-'.uplpermost end of.thexlod I {Theen-d ofv vthe rod I q'lg.- isprevideid withnangeye whichignited-.within anopening n thefouiwardlir iu ned lower end .36 .'of.the.1 slidin g member. 23;;1. iiliishsliding member 3.1 vfunetions in amanner .comparable to the..y sleeve. 1:9. of the form .o f the inventiondescribed hereinbefore-that is, I.ltis -adantedV to slide upwardly,relative to A tlie stati :Silosmoving the 1'odl.lr with it which,inliiurn,

swings .the guard-member' t6 into ,its closed .pesif- "tienev The slide3l may Vbe. .moved downwardly for swinging the. guard memberinioitsopenediposi- `non,y ."Ifheslidinggmember 31 ris provided with@,bridging portion 318. `villini-1 is .the only partei. the member whichencleses the stai 9. ,the remainparts .oi theslid-ing member fitting;.about two .sides andan .endoi the .staff 9 in the v ni-armerillustrated in Fig. 5. Aecordinglx., :the sliding member :el is-adaptednoizonly to. move tiri- :and

alongizhey staff il. but.v to alimited extent, i

it mayy be rocked .to move laterally teward-and .away from lthe. stafffor the purpose vof:flxllifrig .thatf it is. tensile-ned when.theslid-rig member -.3'T is moved toward the s tai e. urges ellesliding` .member away from onestaff .and is .adaptedito slide:.aleng'fiheesta-fwihen thesliding member. ,Skis .'meved-withresnectithereto.. The reference numeral 4| designates a seiew ,Xedly f.secured -to thestailtas `particularly shown in tl-ie stame and., alsopossesses Ya senerallmoylindricalv shank .6 3 extending laterally rom.the `Shannaz beyond', the-undercut.

The .operation of inemodicatien of the ini/entier! :illustrated invFigs. :5 yte .7 inclusive iS simplesimd is quite similar Vto.theoperation of ehe-other modieation of, theinvention-explained yin,detal. her einbef ore. Aspointed out,jthe sliding member-36 is frziovedupwardlyfwlith; respect to the stai 9 to move the rod l1 upwardly andLiQn, il1ao fis.,v :into the pdsitipninwhelait extends nomine-shank o f.the gai- 1100K 15105131.23 polini:- Atl'ieiteof. as skiuwn in solid'lines` Fig,. 1. When .moved upwardly, the. slid-ing member 3l 1Will.not

only move with respect io the lgaff .9, but. with respect to thefixedscrew lll.;en -the..sliding member is .provided with as uitably disposed.slot

A4.- (Fig. k(if),-iperr-niizting it to `:nove with Arespect .to

.the screw 4.1. When .the .sliding member. 3 1 is moved withrespeat .tothe-stati :9, it. will nef-noted naait .is pushed .down afiainsitnestaff so that ftheslete y rides inthe undercut (i2 matted lines...Eie- -.59. and the. undercut and. slot are .di-inen- .sioned to permitthe sliding member. .3?? to- .so

7 40 under tension, thus being pressed against the outer Walls of theundercut 42. When the sliding member 31 reaches its uppermost `position,that is, when the guard i6 has reached its closed position, thecomparatively enlarged round opening 45 (Fig. 6) at the lower end oftheslot 44is brought into registry with the screw 4|. When Athis-occurs,the tensioned spring 40 pushes the sliding member 31 outwardly away fromthe staff 9 and, since the opening 45 lies directly beneath the vshank43 of the screw 4l, the sliding member 31 may move voutwardly until itcontacts the head of the screw 4l. Thus, the shank 43 fills .the opening45 inthe manner clearly illustrated A-inFig. '7, and because the shankfits within the opening 45, it is evident that under these cirycumstan'ces the sliding member 31 is prevented from movinglongitudinally relative to the staff 9. Therefore, the sliding member 31andthe rod I1 attached thereto are locked in place for holding the guardmember lG-in its closed position.

When it is desired to open the guard member, the end 36 of the slidingmember131-'or some 'nearby portion thereof is` depressed, that is, is

tion.` It will be noted that in the modification of the invention shownin Figs. to 7 inclusive, there is no spring comparable to the spring forautomatically moving the guard member into its'opened position once theAoperating mechanism has been unlatched or unlocked.`y While such aspring could be added to the presently discussed modification ifdesired, vI have preferred to keep 'this modification as simple aspracticable.

In View of the foregoing explanation, it will be readily understood thatI have provided an improved gaff for an anglers use in landing a fishsafely and certainly. Thegaff may be operated conveniently, if desiredby one hand, to close a locking arm or guard member over the gaff' hook,thereby preventing the fish from escaping or being dislodgedinadvertently. The device is practical, reliable in operation, andprevents unnecessary loss of a partially made catch which is soexasperating to an angler and which has often occurred heretofore.

1. In a gafling device, a handle shaft, a hand grip portion. at one'endof the shaft, a gaii' hook at the other end of the shaft, a guard forthe pointed portions of said hook comprising a swingy ing arm pivota'llymounted on the shaft for swinging between an open position to bare thehook for operation and a cover position, one end of said arm beingadapted to engage said pointed portions of the hook in overlyingrelation in the means being operatively vconnected with the guard forswinging the latter forceably to the cover position when the finger gripportion is drawn forceably toward the hand grip portion, spring meansv`yieldingly urging the guardtothe open position.

`said shaft having a solid body portion, detent at the cover position ofthe guard.

2. In a gafling device, a handle shaft having atransverse pin holeextending therethrough, a

hand grip portion at one end of the shaft adapted to be grasped by onehand of an operator, a gaf! hook atthe other end of the shaft, a guardfor the pointed' portions of said hook comprising a swinging armpivotally mounted on the shaft for swinging betweenan open position tobare the hook for operation and a cover position, one endv of said armbeingv adapted to engage said pointed portions of the hook in overlyingrelation in the cover' position, manually controlled guard' operatingmeans for swinging'the guard between said open and cover positions, saidguard operating means including a portion slidable longitudinally ofsaid shaft in guided relation and a finger grip portion adjacent saidhand grip portion for operative engagement by lingers of said hand andbeing operatively connected with the guard for swinging the latterforceably to the cover position when the finger grip portion is'.drawn'forceably toward the hand grip portion, spring means yieldinglyurging the guard to the open position, detent means for locking theguard operating means inthe cover position of the guard including a pinslidably supported Within said transverse pin hole and having an endadapted to project from the shaft, detent spring means yieldingly urgingthe pin in the direction of said last named end, said guard operatingmeans having a recess therein adaptedto register with and receive saidend of the pin in detent engagement at the cover position of the guard,and means operatively engaged with said pin for withdrawing the latterfrom the detent position against the tension of the detent spring meansincluding a thumb operated lever vmounted on the shaft adjacent saidhand gripportionfor operation by the thumb of said hand.

3. In a gafling device comprising a handle shaft having a gaff hook atone end -and a hand grip portion at the other end, a swinging guardpivoted' on the shaft to swing to and from a. cover position overlyingthe pointed portion of 'said hook, finger operated means slidabley alongthe shaft and having a finger grip portion adjacent said hand gripportion for operation by a finger of a hand gripping the hand gripportion, means connecting the finger operated means with the guard forswinging the latter forceably to vthe cover position when said lingergrip portion is drawn forceably toward the hand grip portion to alocking position, means yieldingly urging the guard from cover position,and detent means engageable with the shaft and finger operated' means tolock the latter in" said locking position against slidable movement.

4. In ar gafling device comprising la handle shaft member having a gaffhook at one end and 'a hand grip 'portion at the other end,l a swingingguard pivotedon the shaft member to swing to andfrom a cover positionoverlying the pointed portion of'said hook, a finger operated memberslidable-along the shaft member and having 'a finger grip portionadjacent said hand grippor the nger operated member with the guard `forswinging the latter forceably to the cover posi-` tion when said ngergrip portion is drawn forceably toward the hand grip portion to alocking position, means yieldinglyurgng the guard from cover position,springpressed detent means carriedV by one of said members andcooperable in a detent position with, the other member to lock themembers against-relative sliding movement when the finger operatedmember is in said locking position, and thumb operated means adjacentsaid hand grip portion to be actuated by the thumb of the hand grippingsaid hand grip portion and operative to vrelease said detent means fromdetent position. Y JOSEPH T. SHACKEL;

t 10 REFERENCES CITED The following references arev of record in the leof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 481,463 Benson Aug.- 23, 1892949,750 Bettis Febg22, 1910 1,224,571 Schaier May `.1, 1917 1,934,801Hiner Nov.- 14, 1933 l2,210,169 Harter Aug. 6, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 5,347 Great Britain of 1884 5,491 Great Britain of1891 21,014 Great Britain of 1909

